MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor (Demons of Hope)
Overview Technologies & Common Components While MJOLNIR has seen countless upgrades since the project's vision came into focus with the development of the initial Mk. IV iteration, the technologies at its core have remained largely unchanged in the time since, and several new technologies have also become a standard part of the MJOLNIR system's basic feature set. *'Polymerized lithium niobocene layer' — Sandwiched within the armor's bodysuit is a layer of (LiNb), a piezoelectric semi-liquid metal with a well-defined crystalline structure. Due to its piezoelectric nature, the substance's crystalline structure deforms quite drastically along a preferred axis when subjected to an electrical charge. The suit is wired via into the centers of the wearer's brain responsible for controlling their musculoskeletal system, so that when the wearer moves part of their body, an electrical signal is simultaneously transmitted to the portion of the liquid metal layer corresponding to the appropriate muscles in the wearer's body, resulting in the armor moving in sync with the wearer's body. The armor also responds faster to the brain's signals than the wearer's own body, enhancing their reaction time by a significant margin. However, this feature is a double-edged sword, as it requires the wearer to exert incredibly precise control over their movement; additional movements caused by the wearer's body attempting to adjust for the unnatural sensation of the armor moving with them can cause an uncontrollable positive feedback loop, the results of which are deadly to normal humans. It is for this reason that only SPARTAN supersoldiers are capable of wearing MJOLNIR without the armor killing them. *'Force amplification systems' — A system of advanced force-amplifying circuitry works in concert with the polymerized lithium niobocene layer to provide an additional boost to the wearer's movements. This system relies on a controlled, artificially-generated version of the same kind of positive feedback loops that make MJOLNIR so potentially dangerous. *'Hydrostatic gel layer' — The bodysuit also contains a layer of hydrostatic gel which can dynamically soften and harden in response to an impact in order to keep the wearer safe. The gel layer is especially effective at absorbing damage taken from falls, so much so that MJOLNIR armor has even supposedly allowed several Spartans to survive falls from high orbit. *'Titanium nanocomposite bodysuit' — The exterior of MJOLNIR's inner bodysuit is composed of a matrix of tiny, interlocking hexagonal platelets made from a titanium-based nanocomposite. The result is a flexible yet extremely durable mesh, highly resistant to penetration as well as many forms of damage including high heat and extreme friction. This makes it capable of offering the wearer protection against a variety of weapons and attacks, from bullet strikes to even limited plasma damage. Despite this however, the nanocomposite is still significantly weaker than the more traditional titanium composite plating that provides the bulk of MJOLNIR's conventional armor protection. *'Neural linkage' — MJOLNIR utilizes a sophisticated neural linkage system to interact with the wearer's brain via their neural interface. The Mk. IV and early Mk. V iterations' neural linkage systems were hampered by the limited functionality and data transference capabilities of the standard UNSC neural interface used by Spartans at that point, so with the introduction of the RED FLAG version of the MJOLNIR Mk. V, ONI had all active Spartans receive an to their neural interfaces, allowing for greater data transfer bandwidth and access to additional areas of the brain to enable new functionalities specific to the MJOLNIR system. *'Microreactor power source' — The biggest challenge for Project MJOLNIR in its early stages was the lack of a suitable power source. While this was in part solved by reimagining the MJOLNIR system as a powered exoskeleton rather than a something more akin to a mech suit, the suit would still require an extraordinary amount of power in order to remain functional. Dr. Halsey quickly concluded that the only feasible solution was to equip the suit with a miniaturized nuclear reactor. While this was not a terribly difficult solution to implement from an engineering standpoint, the cost of equipping every suit of armor with such an extremely complex piece of hardware was astronomical early on, though like with the even more expensive polymerized lithium niobocene layer, perfected manufacturing techniques would eventually reduce costs to the point where the mass production of second generation MJOLNIR models was economically feasible. Initial production versions of the MJOLNIR Mk. IV utilized fission reactors, but in 2531 this was replaced with a more stable and sustainable microfusion reactor, which would be used on all future iterations of the MJOLNIR system. History & Iterations Origins Early Prototypes — Mk. I, II, & III First Generation MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor Mk. IV upon donning the armor for the first (and last) time.}} MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor Mk. V MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor Mk. VI The realization of Dr. Halsey's vision for MJOLNIR and the most advanced iteration of the armor fielded during the course of the Human-Covenant War, MJOLNIR Mk. VI is arguably the most publicly recognized version of the MJOLNIR system despite it also being the least heavily fielded (with the exception of Mk. VII, which has yet to see a finalized, production-ready design). Quite simply, its recognition in the public eye is the direct result of nothing more than the fact that it was the armor worn by Spartan John-117 during the final days of the war, and remains his armor to date (although his suit has since received extensive modification from the Spartan's ). Second Generation MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor GEN2 Introduced concurrently with the initiation of its sister project, the SPARTAN-IV program, MJOLNIR GEN2 represented a major shift in the direction of MJOLNIR's development. In contrast to the clandestine, experimental nature of the MJOLNIR project during the war, GEN2 aimed to make the MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor system privatized, standardized, and economical, in order to support ONI's vision of a small SPARTAN army to serve humanity's vanguard. GEN2 would also be the first major iteration of MJOLNIR to be developed without the oversight of Dr. Halsey. While Halsey was unquestionably central in making MJOLNIR possible, as the war progressed and more and more of her Spartans fell in battle, Halsey began to obsessively focus on MJOLNIR's operator survivability at the expense of all else. Thus, without Halsey's influence restricting them, the Damascus engineers began to construct their very own pet MJOLNIR project, taking a more balanced, economical approach to the technology in a manner they felt was far more conducive to the plans ONI had in store for the program in the near future. Rather than using a single version that can be customized with various specialized upgrade packages as was the case with MJOLNIR's first generation, GEN2 comprises of an incredibly wide array of specialized variants, most of which are privately manufactured. Due to a surprisingly high Spartan to armor variant ratio generated by the highly lucrative nature of the fledgling MJOLNIR GEN2 market, a special requisition system is used in issuing MJOLNIR to their users. After graduating from a transitional "Recruit" armor variant designed to ease a new Spartan's body into the stresses of wearing MJOLNIR armor, SPARTAN-IVs are presented with a small list of armor variants that they have been approved to requisition, based on their role and unique personal skillsets. Armor is normally made-to-order, with the UNSC purchasing a handful of units up front from the manufacturer to allow Spartans to test out variants before requisitioning their final choice of armor. Only the standard GEN2 bodysuit, the Recruit variant, and a handful of the most commonly requisitioned variants are produced in any kind of significant surplus. Exceptions to this are experimental testbed variants such as FOTUS which cannot be requisitioned, and highly specialized variants such as Deadeye which are only issued on a per-mission basis. First generation MJOLNIR suits can also be upgraded to meet GEN2 spec, but due to the time-consuming and expensive nature of this process, this is option normally only presented to SPARTAN-IIs and SPARTAN-IIIs, although SPARTAN-IVs are permitted to requisition upgraded surplus first generation armor from ONI storage caches in fringe cases where access to normal GEN2 armor is not readily available. Variants *' ' — Developed from the first generation upgrade package of the same name, Air Assault is designed for High Altitude, Low Opening (HALO) insertions. Due to it being designed to function well at high altitudes and in low-oxygen environments, derivative technology is now being issued to security personnel at orbital elevators on Earth and Luna. *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' — Designed with a specialized hydrostatic gel layer designed to respond to high G-forces for extended periods of time without entering armor lockdown, SPARTAN-IV pilots are required to requisition Aviator armor after graduating from their initial Recruit armor. *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' — Designed for extreme-range sniping, the Deadeye helmet uses a sophisticated sensor suite to provide the wearer with a plethora of tactically relevant data, from enemy vital signs to wind patterns and atmospheric conditions. Due to its incredibly specialized nature, Deadeye is only issued on a per-mission basis. *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' — A testbed for the integration of reverse-engineered Forerunner technology into MJOLNIR, FOTUS is not intended for actual field usage and is thus unavailable for requisition. *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' — Designed by a Sangheili armorsmith and produced on by in the state of , Helioskrill is one of the most advanced MJOLNIR variants thanks to its leveraging of native Sangheili technology, but its ergonomics, while acceptable, are not excellent. *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' — Although not actually part of the Commando series, NOBLE is a spiritual successor to the first generation Commando armor upgrade. It is named after , whose commander, , wore a Mk. V suit equipped with the Commando upgrade package. *' ' *' ' — Meant for underwater and amphibious operations, Oceanic is only available on a mission-specific basis. *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' — A fully-requisitionable counterpart to FOTUS, Prefect leverages a number of reverse-engineered Forerunner technologies. However, unlike FOTUS, Prefect's implementation of these technologies is fully stable. *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' — A transitional armor variant issued to all newly-augmented SPARTAN-IVs, Recruit is designed to help new Spartans and their bodies become acquainted with the MJOLNIR system before they requisition a more personally appropriate armor choice. *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *'Sentry' — A variant used specifically by the Office of Naval Intelligence's Special Activities Division, Sentry is highly classified outside of ONI and most mainline SPARTAN-IVs are completely unaware of its existence. *' ' — The second most popular GEN2 variant, Soldier is favored for its generous storage space and advanced protective measures. *' ' *' ' — Reverse engineered from armor, Stalker armor is optimized for use with systems. *'Stormtrooper' — Designed by Hannibal Weapons Systems to allow small fireteams to successfully engage much larger enemy formations. It is usually only employed when large enemy units are present in the Area of Operation. *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' *' ' — The closest thing to a mainline version that GEN2 possesses, Warrior is a well-balanced variant designed by the Damascus engineers themselves. It remains a bar of excellence for the system, with few other GEN2 performing so well in such a wide variety of areas and aspects, and it also remains the most commonly requisitioned GEN2 variant by a fairly significant margin. *' ' *' ' *' ' MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor Mk. VII